A military purchase order, which also includes a study of Chinese warfare, is intended for US Air Force personnel
The US Department of Defense has ordered several books by Western researchers on Russian and Chinese military strategies. The materials are meant for US Air Force personnel at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, the site of the Air Force Historical Research Agency and Air University.
The order, placed in mid-May on the government’s e-procurement system, includes these books: ‘Strategiya: The Foundations of the Russian Art of Strategy’ by Ofer Fridman, a lecturer at King’s College London; ‘Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition’ by Andrew Monaghan; and ‘Putin’s War on Ukraine: Russia’s Campaign for Global Counter-Revolution’ by Samuel Ramani. The list also includes ‘The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China,’ along with two more books on artificial intelligence in combat and space warfare.
The Pentagon plans to buy 600 copies of each book by mid-June.
In February, the US military’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate (CADD) released a 280-page report on Russian military strategy and tactics, especially concerning ground forces, and on possible scenarios for a conflict between Washington and Moscow.
CADD promoted the document in a post on X (formerly Twitter), asking readers: “Do you know your enemy?”
The materials are not classified and are intended for US military officers and those in allied armies.
The report’s authors said they have been following developments in the war in Ukraine, but their findings may need to be revised as the conflict continues.
According to the document, “highly likely” Russian leaders in the future will pursue policies similar to those of the current government “for the foreseeable future,” challenging the “relative position of US influence in the global order while avoiding direct confrontation with the US military.”
The study is part of a series that has included reports on militaries of countries such as China, North Korea, and Iran.